The Carnelian Exile

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"Yes. I've been touched by the Dawn Machine. I believe you already knew that, or you wouldn't have asked me to remove my spectacles. I might be wrong. In either case, nothing has changed, now that you know. We will still be wary of each other."

"I am always the same, do you see? I do not change. I proceed on the same path I always have. I am only one choice: and I will be content only when I have no choice at all."[1]

The Carnelian Exile was banished from Port Carnelian for joining the New Sequence. She later cut ties with the Dawn Machine as well,[2] but her eyes she hides behind dark spectacles are still amber-iris'd and flecked with gold.[3] Having lost both home and community, she seeks to lead a captain of the Unterzee to the Uttermost East and fulfill her destiny.[4][5]

The Exile is a laconic woman[6] who rarely laughs[7] or loses her temper.[8] She speaks of the future like a fortune-teller,[5] answers questions before the questioner can finish asking,[9] and irritates others with her detachment.[10] Her views on destiny border on fatalism: she believes that change is a lie and that her path is unalterable, and that she is composed of "one choice" and will only find fulfillment when she has "no choice at all."[11] While others argue that their choices shape their future, her counter is that when "the lamps go dark," she will only have "one direction" worth following.[12] Under her philosophy, she has studied the Starved Men for their attempts at self-determination,[13] as well as the Dawn Machine to understand how light makes a pawn of its subjects.[14] She also seeks the Nacreous Outcast's secrets, as she dreads the hunger of the Judgements and needs to hasten her quest. This lead proved false, however, much to her frustration towards Axile and its people.[15][16]

The Exile's obsession with the Uttermost East appears to stem from her claim that she heard Salt's song in the wind.[17] Due to her prior ties with the Dawn Machine, she cannot enter Frostfound to claim Salt's name for herself. Instead, she plans to direct a captain to retrieve Salt's name on her behalf[18] and bear witness at Kingeater's Castle while the aspirant destroys their past and future.[19] This ritualistic pattern only fulfills the proxy's destiny,[20] however, and she knows that she may be abandoned or even killed before the journey East is complete.[8][21]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea
  2. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “"I am persona non grata in Port Carnelian," the Exile remarks. "I was too close to the New Sequence, and the Machine. I have repented of that now, but I'll never go home."”
  3. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “She removes her glasses, [...] Her own eyes are marvellously bright. The irises are amber. The whites seem to be flecked with gold. "Yes," she says, "I've been touched by the Dawn Machine. [...]”
  4. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “"I am persona non grata in Port Carnelian," the Exile remarks. "I was too close to the New Sequence, and the Machine. I have repented of that now, but I'll never go home." [...] "Salt's Song," [...] The way East. [...] Will you go East, my captain? Will you take me with you?"”
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “"Destiny is destiny," [...] "You are the captain I would choose to follow across the zee. [...]”
  6. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “She says little, but each word is placed like a pin in a map.”
  7. ↑ The Exile's Plea, Sunless Sea “This is the first time you've heard the Exile laugh, and she seems as surprised as you at the sound.”
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Exile's Plea, Sunless Sea “"I want to curse you; but I won't curse you. I was wrong: you are not my road. You won't see me again."”
  9. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “She has the discomfiting - even irritating - habit of answering your questions just before you finish speaking.”
  10. ↑ Overheard at Zee: Fraying Tempers, Sunless Sea “EXILE: Most things are ultimately endurable. ADVENTURESS: Don't play the stoic with me!”
  11. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “"I am always the same, do you see? I do not change. I proceed on the same path I always have. I am only one choice: and I will be content only when I have no choice at all."”
  12. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “Protest: the journey is the destination [...] Each choice you make in future will depend on this one. The ship goes where the captain sails, and where the captain chooses to sail depends on where you've been. [...] "Perhaps," she says - "perhaps our choices determine our heading. But at last, when the lamps go dark, there is only one direction. One day, we'll go there together."” Editor's Note: Unclear if she's referring to the Liberation of Night, or is speaking of darkness in the abstract sense.
  13. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “Protest: the journey is the destination [...] Between mouthfuls, she tells you something of the Starved Men and their wars on the roof - the arts of flesh-shaping that they practiced and debated.”
  14. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “Accept what she says [...] She's right. If nothing has changed in response to your choice, then your choice was that of a pawn that chooses to move forward. [...] she tells you something of the nature of light as revealed through the operations of the Dawn Machine.”
  15. ↑ Overheard at Zee: Questions, Sunless Sea “NACREOUS OUTCAST: Ffrhume? CARNELIAN EXILE: I want your secrets.”
  16. ↑ Overheard at Zee: An Interrogation, Sunless Sea “CARNELIAN EXILE: You again. NACREOUS OUTCAST: Fffrah erffuhth. CARNELIAN EXILE: I've waited long enough. There's more to you now. NACREOUS OUTCAST: Intheth nath Frosttfhounf! CARNELIAN EXILE: No. No more. The stars are hungry. I'm running out of time. NACREOUS OUTCAST: Eatht. The Eatht. CARNELIAN EXILE: That's all? That's all you have for me? ...d__n you. D__n every one of you. May Axile burn.”
  17. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “She leans closer. "Salt's Song," she whispers. "I hear it on the wind. The way East. The horizon's road. Will you go East, my captain? Will you take me with you?" [...]”
  18. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “"Destiny is destiny," she says softly. "You are the captain I would choose to follow across the zee. If the time comes for you to claim your burning name... speak with me again. I cannot enter the Name's prison. Not any more." She taps her glasses. "But perhaps you can."”
  19. ↑ Carnelian Exile, Sunless Sea “"Yes. Yes, it's time to go to the Castle. Be ready. I'll witness you when you speak your name; I'll help you sacrifice your past. I'll help you sacrifice your future. And then we must make one more journey."”
  20. ↑ The Exile's Plea, Sunless Sea “"Captain. I've brought you to your destiny. Make it our destiny. Take me East."”
  21. ↑ The Exile's Plea, Sunless Sea “The Exile makes no move to resist. The knife goes in neatly. There is very little blood. "One last sacrifice," she whispers, and then she's gone, over the side into the night-sea.”
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